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Motivating myself - my GYG blog :)

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Original post by kayleigh_t.27
Wednesday 29th November 2023
Feliz miercoles :smile:

I have a late start again today, hence ANOTHER early report (goodness I'm treating you all at the moment lmao)

First though, I have an exciting update on my ucas journey... I GOT AN OFFER FROM MY INSURANCE CHOICE THIS MORNING! I can't believe they got back to me that quick, and the conditions in their offer are really reasonable so I'm a very very very happy gal. My first choice uni said in their confirmation of receiving my application email that they generally respond within two weeks so I'm just praying on them now and I'm all set. I wouldn't mind going to my insurance choice but the course at my first choice has a little extra spice so :smile:)))

Here's my plan for today:

10 mins memory revision (hopefully my teacher will be giving me the booklets they make of every exam question there has been so far for each topic today as my mum paid for them yesterday, so I'll probably do some quick exam questions from there)

Plan for my Elizabeth I essay on Friday (didn't get around to doing this yesterday)

English lit NEA (I'm almost finished editing what I've already written so we're on the right tracks... FIVE DAYS UNTIL I NEVER HAVE TO ANALYSE PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ROMEO AND JULIET IN THIS AMOUNT OF DETAIL AGAIN)

Love poetry anthology revision


I hope you all have a lovely day 🙂 I'm so excited to tell my friends about my offer later!!

omg congrats on the insurance choice!!!!!! Which uni was it? GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NEA!!
Original post by kayleigh_t.27
@emm4nuella this might be helpful for you!

CALLING ALL ALEVEL AQA PSYCH STUDENTS, MY FRIEND IS A GENIUS!
One of my friends in my psych class is literally incredible at creating funny ways to remember content and she's happy for me to share some with you all :smile:

RESEARCH METHODS - STATISTICAL TEST TABLE MNEMONIC:
Top row: Cats (chi squared) Share (sign test) Carrots (chi squared)
Middle row: Meanwhile (Mann-Whitney) Wobbly (Wilcoxon) Shrek (Spearman's rho)
Bottom row: Unleashed (unrelated t test) Rabbid (related t test) Parrots (Pearson's r)

RELATIONSHIPS - SEXUAL SELECTION FOR EACH GENDER
This is a bit borrowed from the aggression topic, relating the ways in which each gender is usually aggressive to the sexual selection they use

Intra sexual selection (males) - as men are usually physically aggressive, you can remember that intra sexual selection is their type by thinking "IntRA" like growling

Inter sexual selection (females) - as women are usually aggressive in a gossipy way, you can remember that inter sexual selection is their type by thinking "IntER" like ER EXCUSE ME, being judgy

I hope these help!! Once again, all credits to my friend 🙂

This is so helpful! Where was this when I was doing my A-levels a few years ago!! I would have definitely needed it so thank you to your friend. I hope more people see this.

Also congratulations on your insurance choice! How are you feeling about it?
Original post by rowan_willow
omg congrats on the insurance choice!!!!!! Which uni was it? GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NEA!!

Bath Spa :smile:) Thank you so much!! Hope all is well for you :smile:
Original post by University of Kent
This is so helpful! Where was this when I was doing my A-levels a few years ago!! I would have definitely needed it so thank you to your friend. I hope more people see this.

Also congratulations on your insurance choice! How are you feeling about it?

I'm really really happy - considering they only got my application a few hours before they gave me the offer I'm very grateful 🙂 The course looks great too so I'm happy to go there should I not get an offer from my first choice!
Thursday 30th November 2023

I had another offer yesterday - I got an interview for the primary education course I applied for, but I've since decided I don't want to do the course anymore so I'm currently in the thick of trying to withdraw my application so they don't have to waste their time interviewing me. I'm still so grateful to have had the opportunity though!! Just waiting on my first choice and my other two wild cards now :smile:

What I've already done today:

Part of my English lit homework

Filled in most of some outstanding sheets I had for international relations


What I'm planning to do now:

10 mins research methods revision

English lit NEA (four days to go!!)

Aggression flashcards


I hope you're all having a great day! I've seen quite a few people saying they are submitting their ucas applications tomorrow, so good luck to you all if this applies to you! It seems really daunting at the time (I fully panicked for half an hour and couldn't bring myself to press submit until my friend did a count down for me lmao), but you'll feel so relieved when it's all sent off and out the way. You might not get offers right away, but don't panic about that - I was incredibly lucky to get two almost immediately, but my friend who has applied to both of those unis too hasn't heard anything back yet, so it's nothing to worry about if you don't hear for a while! They do have until the middle of May after all 🙂

Wishing you all the best,
Kay
Original post by kayleigh_t.27
Friday 24th November 2023

My mental health has just gone out of the window today - I don't usually like to talk about stuff like this online or anything but I think it's important to acknowledge that no one is perfect and we all have our struggles. I've been on the edge of breaking for a few days because of all the work I have to do and how emotionally intense this period in my life is in terms of mocks, NEAs, UCAS applications, homework, essays.... the list goes on and on. However today I've been tipped over the edge - I have really bad eczema and I have done since I was literally a baby, and one of the things which causes it to flare up is stress, so of course that came around to say hello, then my history mock content has been messed about AGAIN - the history department at my school just don't seem to know solidly what they're doing when it comes to assessment, so there's now a lot more content for the Tudors in my mock, and on top of that I've had loads of homework, tests and essays set, so it's safe to say I'm very overwhelmed. Genuinely all I want to do right now is lie on my bed and cry.

Unfortunately though, school doesn't stop for mental health and my English lit teacher will actually go mad if I don't do my homework for Monday (which I've tried to do every day so far this week but without success) as he literally will not accept any excuse for not doing the 4 essays he sets on the week we don't have him (which is so unfair, like just because we don't have you for any lessons this week doesn't mean we don't have English at all... my other teacher doesn't feel the need to set any homework on the week we don't see her and if she does it's just something quite simple and quick). So I need to force myself to do that tonight.

In terms of my Elizabeth I test today, my history teacher forgot so I wasted time on revising for that last night!

I think I'm just going to focus on doing my lit homework tonight. If I feel up to doing anything else I will do some flashcards or something but I'm just feeling so awful right now I'm not sure that'll be a possibility!

Apologies for the slightly ranty post today, but let it be your reminder that it's okay to have bad days and that everyone struggles though it might seem that they're so productive and have themselves together :smile:

All my love <3

hope you're feeling better soon, im always happy to listen no matter what is bothering you. sending love <3
Guys I have no words. I am beyond grateful right now.

Literally just after I posted my update for today saying I've had no more offers, I got an email from ucas track saying there was an update on my application. I kid you not, two more universities have given me offers. AND ONE OF THEM IS MY FIRST CHOICE!! I am in tears, it might seem dramatic but this means so much to me and I've never felt so much gratitude in my life.

I'm wishing the same luck for all of you, I really really am!
Original post by erin11
hope you're feeling better soon, im always happy to listen no matter what is bothering you. sending love <3

Thank you so much, I'm feeling much much better now - I find sometimes I need to let myself hit rock bottom to build myself back up again! I think all the offers I've been getting have made everything really real for me and it's helped to get my motivation back 🙂 The same goes for you, I'm always here if you need a chat <3
Friday 1st December 2023
HELLO FROM SCHOOL!! I'm at the end of a free period and I've just finished doing loads of work, so I thought I'd do my post for here before lunch :smile:

I GOT MY FINAL UNI OFFER TODAY!! I'm very excited and very proud of myself, but apparently all the hard work I've been doing and all my offers still aren't enough for my school - they've emailed my mum with "serious concerns" about the fact that I'm not going to be able to do anything with my life after sixth form because my grades are "so bad"... I literally have no idea what they're on about, all this has stemmed from the fact that I'm getting Bs in history and English lit and apparently my grades arent good enough if they aren't A*s.

Work I've done already today:

English lit clifs grid

Finished my last international relations sheet

Biopsychology flashcards


Tonight's tasks:

English lit NEA (final stretch)

Update Notion

10 mins relationships revision


24 days until Christmas!!!! I'm very very excited, I go back to being a little child when it's Christmas time :smile:

Best wishes,
Kay
Original post by kayleigh_t.27
Guys I have no words. I am beyond grateful right now.

Literally just after I posted my update for today saying I've had no more offers, I got an email from ucas track saying there was an update on my application. I kid you not, two more universities have given me offers. AND ONE OF THEM IS MY FIRST CHOICE!! I am in tears, it might seem dramatic but this means so much to me and I've never felt so much gratitude in my life.

I'm wishing the same luck for all of you, I really really am!

congrats on all the offers!! very very well deserved, im so proud of you 😀 <3
Original post by erin11
congrats on all the offers!! very very well deserved, im so proud of you 😀 <3

Thank you so much!! Wishing the best for you too :smile:)
Monday 4th December 2023
Late entry today - I've been so busy trying to get my English lit NEA word count down to 2500 so that has taken priority 🙂 BUT I've finally submitted it now, so although I don't feel it's my absolute best work, I'm pleased with what I've managed to achieve in the word limit and I'm just so glad to have it out of my mind so I can focus on other things now <3

Like I said, my main priority for today was getting my NEA done, but I also did 10 mins of attachment exam questions earlier and this is what I'm planning for the rest of my evening:

Aggression flashcards (I have an EOU coming up so I need to start getting these polished off)

Updating my Notion database with my offers (I'm not sure I'll have time to start RAG rating my mock content tonight but I do need to do that at some point)


I also need to hit into doing my Christmas cards and wrapping stuff for my friend's birthday (which is next week!!) at some point during this week 🙂 I've also got my Christmas decorations up now so it's all very exciting!

I hope you're all well and have a lovely evening x
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Another late entry today! I've managed to do quite a bit of work today:

This morning I did my CLIFS grid for English lit and watched a video to extend my knowledge about atrocity propaganda

I made more flashcards for aggression

I made flashcards for Chapter 14 of International Relations

I printed off my English lit NEA

I finally made a revision timetable for my January mocks


There were a couple of things I didn't get to do which I had hoped to, but I'm shifting things around with my mock timetable so I'll do revision in the evenings mainly and if I have homework or anything, I'll do it during my frees at school or if I have a late start in the morning I'll do it then :smile:

I had a really useful revision technique workshop in my social studies session today, and though it was quite boring and seemed pointless at the time, it actually did motivate me to sort myself out a bit!!

Hope you've all had a productive day🍀
Original post by kayleigh_t.27
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Another late entry today! I've managed to do quite a bit of work today:

This morning I did my CLIFS grid for English lit and watched a video to extend my knowledge about atrocity propaganda

I made more flashcards for aggression

I made flashcards for Chapter 14 of International Relations

I printed off my English lit NEA

I finally made a revision timetable for my January mocks


There were a couple of things I didn't get to do which I had hoped to, but I'm shifting things around with my mock timetable so I'll do revision in the evenings mainly and if I have homework or anything, I'll do it during my frees at school or if I have a late start in the morning I'll do it then :smile:

I had a really useful revision technique workshop in my social studies session today, and though it was quite boring and seemed pointless at the time, it actually did motivate me to sort myself out a bit!!

Hope you've all had a productive day🍀

heya, may have already asked you this but how do you make a revision timetable?
Original post by emm4nuella
heya, may have already asked you this but how do you make a revision timetable?

Heya!

I find for me that restricting myself to particular time blocks to do things creates resistance and I never actually end up doing what I planned because I demonise my time slots for some reason! Though giving strict timings works for some people, I have tried it over and over with both GCSEs and alevels and it's just never worked for me. But what I have found HAS worked for me is literally just writing down what topics I need to revise on what day, and then that gives me more motivation to do those things.

So what I've done is as on my school timetable I have "week 1" and "week 2" and it flicks between the two, to keep in with that routine I split my revision schedule into "week 1" and "week 2" too (so essentially I made two different study plans which I will alternate). I've planned to do a bit of each of my three subjects each day based on what topics are in my mocks and I've also included a timed practice session for each subject once a week as timings are my biggest killer and I want to put aside time to work on exam questions in exam conditions. I further split up the practice sessions into the papers I will be doing for each mock (so basically one week I do Tudors/Love through the ages/Relationships and aggression for a session each, the next I do International Relations/texts in shared context/research methods for a session each). I think it might be more helpful if I showed you...

MONDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Section 1 International Relations (Chapters 1-4)
· ENGLISH LIT - Othello
· PSYCHOLOGY - Relationships

TUESDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Henry VII
· ENGLISH LIT - Wipers Times
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 1

WEDNESDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Section 2 International Relations (Chapters 5-8)
· ENGLISH LIT - The Great Gatsby
· PSYCHOLOGY - Aggression

THURSDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Henry VIII
· ENGLISH LIT - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Love Through the Ages)
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 2

FRIDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Section 3 International Relations (Chapters 9-12)
. ENGLISH LIT - Love Poetry Anthology
. PSYCHOLOGY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Aggression and Relationships)

MONDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Edward VI
. ENGLISH LIT - All Quiet on the Western Front
· PSYCHOLOGY - Relationships

TUESDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Section 4 International Relations (Chapters 13-16) + Chapter 17
. ENGLISH LIT - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Texts in Shared Contexts)
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 1

WEDNESDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Mary I
· ENGLISH LIT - Othello
· PSYCHOLOGY - Aggression

THURSDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (International Relations)
. ENGLISH LIT - Up the Line to Death
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 2

FRIDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Tudors)
. ENGLISH LIT - Either Gatsby and Poetry or AQ and WT (drawing comparison)
· PSYCHOLOGY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Research Methods)

Hope this helps!!
Wednesday 6th December 2023
I had a late start this morning so I wrote all of my Christmas cards, went to town with my mum and chilled with my friend for a bit... yes I put my English lit homework off but I have promised myself I will go to the library during my free 2nd tomorrow to do it!

Today's the first day of using my new revision schedule, so here's my plan:

Chapter 5 international relations revision

The Great Gatsby revision

Aggression revision


Also, here's an updated list of all of the gyg forums I'm loving at the moment!

@emm4nuella https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7404622&p=98979405&page=7#post98979405

@erin11 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7411798&p=98979886&page=7#post98979886

@MP_25 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7423676&p=98979276&page=1#post98979276

@bicompton https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7419578&p=98974237&page=2#post98974237

@flowersinmyhair https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7388678&p=98974227&page=11#post98974227

@oliviapope1 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7417222&p=98958565&page=3#post98958565

@toothysmile https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7388227&p=98920557&page=11#post98920557

Keep up the good work everyone!
(I just realised for some reason it won't let me actually tag anyone... oh well)
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by kayleigh_t.27
Heya!

I find for me that restricting myself to particular time blocks to do things creates resistance and I never actually end up doing what I planned because I demonise my time slots for some reason! Though giving strict timings works for some people, I have tried it over and over with both GCSEs and alevels and it's just never worked for me. But what I have found HAS worked for me is literally just writing down what topics I need to revise on what day, and then that gives me more motivation to do those things.

So what I've done is as on my school timetable I have "week 1" and "week 2" and it flicks between the two, to keep in with that routine I split my revision schedule into "week 1" and "week 2" too (so essentially I made two different study plans which I will alternate). I've planned to do a bit of each of my three subjects each day based on what topics are in my mocks and I've also included a timed practice session for each subject once a week as timings are my biggest killer and I want to put aside time to work on exam questions in exam conditions. I further split up the practice sessions into the papers I will be doing for each mock (so basically one week I do Tudors/Love through the ages/Relationships and aggression for a session each, the next I do International Relations/texts in shared context/research methods for a session each). I think it might be more helpful if I showed you...

MONDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Section 1 International Relations (Chapters 1-4)
· ENGLISH LIT - Othello
· PSYCHOLOGY - Relationships

TUESDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Henry VII
· ENGLISH LIT - Wipers Times
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 1

WEDNESDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Section 2 International Relations (Chapters 5-8)
· ENGLISH LIT - The Great Gatsby
· PSYCHOLOGY - Aggression

THURSDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Henry VIII
· ENGLISH LIT - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Love Through the Ages)
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 2

FRIDAY WK1:
. HISTORY - Section 3 International Relations (Chapters 9-12)
. ENGLISH LIT - Love Poetry Anthology
. PSYCHOLOGY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Aggression and Relationships)

MONDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Edward VI
. ENGLISH LIT - All Quiet on the Western Front
· PSYCHOLOGY - Relationships

TUESDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Section 4 International Relations (Chapters 13-16) + Chapter 17
. ENGLISH LIT - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Texts in Shared Contexts)
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 1

WEDNESDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Mary I
· ENGLISH LIT - Othello
· PSYCHOLOGY - Aggression

THURSDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (International Relations)
. ENGLISH LIT - Up the Line to Death
. PSYCHOLOGY - Research Methods 2

FRIDAY WK2:
. HISTORY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Tudors)
. ENGLISH LIT - Either Gatsby and Poetry or AQ and WT (drawing comparison)
· PSYCHOLOGY - Exam Technique - Timed Practice (Research Methods)

Hope this helps!!

omg this is so so clever :smile:! and yes that helped A LOT! :biggrin:
Original post by kayleigh_t.27
Wednesday 6th December 2023
I had a late start this morning so I wrote all of my Christmas cards, went to town with my mum and chilled with my friend for a bit... yes I put my English lit homework off but I have promised myself I will go to the library during my free 2nd tomorrow to do it!

Today's the first day of using my new revision schedule, so here's my plan:

Chapter 5 international relations revision

The Great Gatsby revision

Aggression revision


Also, here's an updated list of all of the gyg forums I'm loving at the moment!

@emm4nuella https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7404622&p=98979405&page=7#post98979405

@erin11 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7411798&p=98979886&page=7#post98979886

@MP_25 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7423676&p=98979276&page=1#post98979276

@bicompton https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7419578&p=98974237&page=2#post98974237

@flowersinmyhair https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7388678&p=98974227&page=11#post98974227

@oliviapope1 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7417222&p=98958565&page=3#post98958565

@toothysmile https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7388227&p=98920557&page=11#post98920557

Keep up the good work everyone!
(I just realised for some reason it won't let me actually tag anyone... oh well)

thank youuuu ❤️
Thursday 7th December 2023

Happy Thursday all!! I've had quite a productive day so far - I managed to get 2/3 of my English lit homework done at school today as well as some printing jobs I needed to do, so I'm very proud of myself :smile:

Here's my goals for this evening:

Timed practice essay for Othello (November 2021 question)

Henry VIII revision

Research methods 2 revision


I'm hoping to get my lit homework finished in my free period tomorrow so I don't have to rush it over the weekend again as I have literally every week since the start of the year... whoops! But look at me being all organised now!!
Original post by kayleigh_t.27
Thursday 7th December 2023

Happy Thursday all!! I've had quite a productive day so far - I managed to get 2/3 of my English lit homework done at school today as well as some printing jobs I needed to do, so I'm very proud of myself :smile:

Here's my goals for this evening:

Timed practice essay for Othello (November 2021 question)

Henry VIII revision

Research methods 2 revision


I'm hoping to get my lit homework finished in my free period tomorrow so I don't have to rush it over the weekend again as I have literally every week since the start of the year... whoops! But look at me being all organised now!!

Hiiiii. Here to support u!

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